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Ohmygosh you guys. I slept for almost nine hours last night. Amazing. I believe the last time that happened was last March when Chris and I were in Cuba. For some reason we slept like 10 hours a night when we were there. The rum maybe? I swear I wasn’t drunk last night :P

Aaaanyways, there was only one thing that could follow such a stellar night’s sleep. Fluffernutter oatmeal. On top of my TV (watching CBC’s new televised version of Information Morning).

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 1/4 cups water

1/2 scoop vanilla whey powder

cinnamon

peanut butter

marshmallow fluff

MMmmmm… Fluff is so dreamy when it goes all melty on oats…

I put my tofu spread to work for lunch today, by mixing it with… more tofu!

Crumbled tofu (cooked in the microwave for a couple minutes first) mixed with tofu spread, bell pepper, onion, tomato and mushrooms then crammed into a pita.

By the way, I don’t picture everything I eat at work! Well, I don’t picture everything I eat period. I’m a snacker, so there’s a lot of snacks that happen in between meals that don’t get shown on the blog. It’s especially difficult for me to photograph everything I eat at work as it’s usually consumed while doing something. For example, I had some homemade trail mix this morning while sitting in on a government hearing. Didn’t really want to whip out my camera and take pictures of the plain ole’ nuts I was eating. Especially while listening to a presentation on infanticide with the province’s attorney general, ya know?

But I did have time to photograph the crazy delicious supper I made :D

A hummus frittata:

2 whole eggs

4 egg whites

1/2 a red bell pepper. chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

2 large mushrooms, chopped

1 small tomato, sliced

dash paprika and onion powder

2 tbsp red pepper hummus

1 piece of whole wheat toast

Sautee the veggies in paprika and onion powder. Beat eggs together, pour into pan, and cook on medium-low heat until mostly solid. Stick pan under broiler for a couple minutes until top is slightly browned. Top with hummus and toast pieces.

I thought about putting the bread pieces in the frittata, but I didn’t want it getting lost in there. And what I really wanted was some toast. Hence the random pieces on top – but it was delicious!! And hummus and eggs are a wonderful combo too :)

The Christmas Issue…

Ahhh….yes. The Christmas issue. It’s one of my November Goals to “get into the Christmas spirit” this year. You see, I don’t like Christmas, and I’ve gotten a lot of questions as to why. I figured I might as well get it out of the way as we’re only getting closer to the damn thing.

I actually don’t like talking about why I don’t like Christmas. Most people who know me, know I’ve never been into it. But I doubt even my family knows exactly why it bothers me. Although, the reason shouldn’t be the least bit surprising to them.

That’s because my dislike for the holiday is because of my family. Wait! I lovelovelove my family to pieces! But that’s exactly the issue.

My dad moved out on the second day of grade 7. I was 12 years old. It was rough. I will never, ever, go into the details publicly. I do not share them with even people I know personally, so don’t expect to ever see it on the blog. Those first few months of my parents separation were, to put it bluntly, awful. Everyone in my family could probably attest to that. Many arguments were had, tears shed, and lives changed forever.

That first Christmas, as you can imagine, was just as awful. It’s something I’ll never forget. My “perfect” family was shattered. None of us were “healthy” in several senses of the word. It was just a very depressing and heart wrenching time for us.

Christmas has since improved with every passing year. My family is apart, but we are all now happier because of it. I would never wish for things to be the way they used to be, because I can see how much better they are now. But that doesn’t change the longing I feel during the holiday season. I think of the happy Christmases I had as a child, contrasted with the awful ones that followed. Now, my holidays are spent between two homes, with two “new” families.

Again, I need to reiterate that I love my family the way it is now. The holiday season just conjures up a lot of emotional issues I have surrounding that dark period in my family’s history. Not to mention, it’s kind of awkward to separate a holiday between two parents. I guess the idea of “togetherness” may have to be modified to fit today’s modern family.

So there ya go. I just totally spilled my guts, and to be honest, feel really vulnerable about it! At the same time, you can understand why it’s important that I learn to overcome these emotions and really learn how to embrace the Christmas season. Everything happened so long ago, and yet sometimes it feels like the wounds are still very raw. This year, I’m going to help heal them a little :)

So to help my efforts in learning to love Christmas, I ask you: What is your favourite thing about the holiday season?

And with that, I’m off to y-y-yoga. Juuuust what the doctor ordered :)

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Welcome!

My name is Susan, I'm a 20-something living in Atlantic Canada and this is my blog about... me. I used to blog about food and fitness, but that all changed in June 2011 when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After six months of chemotherapy, I was declared cancer-free in January 2012. I now write about anything and everything as I stumble through my post-cancer world. I'm a trained journalist currently working as a writer/researcher. I also have a background in personal fitness training and nutrition. Welcome to my piece of the internet!
See my About page or Top Posts page for more.

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E-mail me at: thegreatbalancingact@gmail.com

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